Kuopio is a
Finnish city and
municipality located in the province of
Eastern Finland and the region of
Northern Savonia. A population of
makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of , of which is water
and half forest. The
population density is only , but the city's
urban areas are populated very densely (urban area: 1 617.6 /km²
), nationally second only to capital
Helsinki (urban area: 1 690.0 /km²
). The population of the entire Kuopio region is 119,472.
[Kuopion Kaupunkilehti, 19 March 2008, bottom of page 4)]Kuopio was founded in
1653 by Governor
Peter Brahe, but the official date is recognized as
November 17,
1775, when King
Gustav III of Sweden ordered the establishment of the city of Kuopio. The municipality of
Vehmersalmi joined the city of Kuopio on
January 1,
2005 like the municipality of
Kuopion maalaiskunta in
1969 and the municipality of
Riistavesi in
1973.
Karttula will join Kuopio in
2011.
thumb|left|Kuopio is almost completely surrounded by lake Kallavesi.
The city is surrounded by lake
Kallavesi, and several parts of it are built on islands. Kuopio's ample waterfronts and islands are also utilized in the
Saaristokaupunki (lit.
Archipelago city) -project, the biggest residential area currently being built in Finland. Saaristokaupunki will accommodate a total of 14,000 inhabitants in 2015. All houses will be situated no more than 500 meters from the nearest lakeshore.
Kuopio is known for its association with a national delicacy, Finnish fish pastry (
Kalakukko), and the dialect of Savo, as well as the hill of
Puijo and the
Puijo tower. Besides being a very popular outdoor recreation area, Puijo serves also as a stage for a yearly World Cup
ski jumping competition.
The city has a nationally unique feature in its street network, where every second street is practically a pedestrian and cycle street, so called "rännikatu" (lit.
rain gutter street). These streets provide pedestrians a calm environment aside from the main street traffic. This setup dates back all the way to 1776 and the first town plan by Pehr Kjellman. Originally rännikatu,
gränd (in Swedish) were created as a fire barrier to prevent a possible fire escalating in a city mostly built with wood.
Transport connections to Kuopio include
Pendolino trains and air service from
Kuopio Airport with
Finnair,
Blue1 and
Finncomm (domestic, to
Helsinki-Vantaa), and
airBaltic (international, to
Riga).
The city was a finalist to host the inaugural edition of the
2012 Winter Youth Olympics.
Education and business
thumb|left|Kuopio City Hall (built 1882–1886) on a fair day.Kuopio has always been a city of education. Some of the first schools offering education in
Finnish (such as the School for the Blind in 1871, and the Trade School in 1887) were established in Kuopio. Currently the most important institutions are the
University of Kuopio, the
Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Vocational College of Northern Savonia and the Kuopio department of the
Sibelius Academy.
Kuopio is known as a strong center of health (e.g. it has the biggest yearly enrollment rate of medical students in Finland), pharmacy, environment, food & nutrition (all legalized Clinical and Public Health Nutritionists in Finland graduate from the University of Kuopio), safety (education in Emergency Services is centered in Kuopio
) and welfare professions, as the major organisations University of Kuopio, Savonia University of Applied Sciences and
Technopolis Kuopio are particularly oriented to those areas.
thumb|250px|Technology centre Technopolis Kuopio is situated in Kuopio Science Park.
There are about 4,200 enterprises in Kuopio
, of which approximately 180 are export companies
. These provide about 45,000 jobs
.
People and culture
Kuopio is known as the cultural center of Eastern Finland. A wide range of musical (from kindergarten to doctorate-level studies) and dance education is available and the cultural life is active. Notable events include
ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival, , , and . A notable place, however, to enjoy the local flavor of Kuopio life and food is Sampo, a fish restaurant loved by locals and tourists as well.
In Finland the inhabitants of Kuopio have a special reputation: they are known as jovial and verbally joking. Within the Savo culture, the
onus is placed on the listener to interpret the story. People of Kuopio region and Eastern Finland have always had many health problems and the mortality has been higher than on an average in Finland. Because of this, Eastern Finland has been a sweetspot for Public Health studies.
The North Karelia Project by the
University of Kuopio in coordination with the
National Public Health Institute and the
World Health Organization, beginning in the 1970s was one of its first steps towards world class research.
During the 2000s, Kuopio has placed very well in a number image, popularity and city-attractiveness surveys. In 2007 it was placed third, behind
Tampere and
Oulu.
thumb|200px|Puijo tower, built in 1963 (3rd; 2nd from 1906 was demolished when this was completed; 1st was built in 1856)
Kuopio is the seat of the
Finnish Orthodox Church. This is an autonomous cell within the autocephalous jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is the only mainstream Orthodox faction to celebrate Easter on the Latin date. The late Archbishop Paul had been successful in producing literature of popular theology.
Notable persons
thumb|250px|right|The Fighting Capercaillies by Ferdinand von Wright in 1886 is one of Finland's best known paintings. Sports in Kuopio
Kuopio bid for the
2012 Winter Youth Olympics, a youth sports festival in the tradition of the Olympics. It became a finalist in November 2008, but ultimately lost to
Innsbruck, Austria. Kuopio's image as a small city with a large University and many active young people was considered a model of what the
International Olympic Committee seeks for the Games.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Kuopio is
twinned with:
